In this 1936 release, Frank Capra perfected his blend of comedy and social commentary, winning the second of his three Academy Awards for Best Direction. Gary Cooper earned an Oscar nomination of his own as Longfellow Deeds, a small-town rube who heads to New York to collect a $20-million inheritance. When he discovers that his big-city girlfriend (Jean Arthur) is also the reporter whose demeaning stories have made him the joke of the city, he decides to give his fortune away. The movie was also nominated for five additional Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Sound, and Best Screenplay, by Robert Riskin.